Peace Building and Rehabilitation in Afghanistan
Contents: Acknowledgements. Preface. Abbreviations. 1. Introduction. 2. Review of literature. 3. Methodology. 4. Conflict assessment and peace building in Afghanistan. 5. Livelihood in Afghanistan. 6. Case study. 7. Findings, recommendations and conclusion. Glossary. Interview guides. Bibliography. Appendices.
Afghanistan, the sick man of Asia, is ravaged by three decades of incessant conflicts and civil war. It gained international notoriety afterworld trade Centre attacks by Al-Qaeda and Taliban. US and NATO-led forces intervened in Afghanistan and situation worsened there. The Afghans living in Afghanistan lead a miserable life yearning for peace and millions have migrated during the war caused by the two global super powers namely USSR and United States of America. An historical overview is provided of the Afghans conflict, which highlights its complex regionalized and enduring nature. The research study briefs how the Afghans had to lead an inhuman life after the withdrawal of USSR and the prolonged silence of USA till the terrorists attacked the World Trace Center who had their head quarters in Afghanistan. The civil war endured till the Taliban captured power with the support from Pakistan and became a big threat to the ethnic minorities, women ad children, imposed Shariat law and pushed down the country to several centuries back.
Apart from the external key players in the conflict for their own political interests, the major threat is the landlocked nature of the country and the ethnic affiliation of Afghans along with the ethnic groups living in the border. The poppy cultivation which is the source of the production of heroine lead to financing of Talibans and terrorist groups. The warlords who became powerful during the civil war till hold important posts in the new parliament since the Bonn agreement invited all the warlords to form a government to oust the Taliban. The corruption exists in all the sectors which is working against the vulnerable communities.
At this crucial juncture rehabilitation is indispensable to build peace among the communities who lost their social capital. Enhancing livelihood is crucial because after the advent of the UN the displaced people arrived back and slowly the people wanted to restart their social and economic capital.
The peace building measures have not created substantial positive effect due to micro level problems escalate the conflict among the communities. The mass media developed by the international communities and the revival of schools and the education system have created awareness on social problems and communal harmony among the youth for positive changes. There are miles to go towards peace building since the Afghans lost their social fabric and they lost their livelihood sources. This study explores into a rehabilitation project which has the objective of providing employment but has not brought any positive changes in the lives of vulnerable communities. The study has brought out the aspirations of Afghans for peace building and on the basis of the group discussions it has recommendations. Peace education to the school going and non school going children and rebuilding the traditional problem solving mechanisms by training the village leaders in conflict resolution methods like dialogue and de-arming the war lords are some of the suggestions. The project advocates for the small scale industries since anything small will enrich the vulnerable communities and it argues to change the policies from infrastructure building to developing the human develop index since Afghans being torn by war have lost all the chances of augmenting the human development skill.
Afghanistan, the sick man of Asia, is ravaged by three decades of incessant conflicts and civil war. It gained international notoriety afterworld trade Centre attacks by Al-Qaeda and Taliban. US and NATO-led forces intervened in Afghanistan and situation worsened there. The Afghans living in Afghanistan lead a miserable life yearning for peace and millions have migrated during the war caused by the two global super powers namely USSR and United States of America. An historical overview is provided of the Afghans conflict, which highlights its complex regionalized and enduring nature. The research study briefs how the Afghans had to lead an inhuman life after the withdrawal of USSR and the prolonged silence of USA till the terrorists attacked the World Trace Center who had their head quarters in Afghanistan. The civil war endured till the Taliban captured power with the support from Pakistan and became a big threat to the ethnic minorities, women ad children, imposed Shariat law and pushed down the country to several centuries back.
Apart from the external key players in the conflict for their own political interests, the major threat is the landlocked nature of the country and the ethnic affiliation of Afghans along with the ethnic groups living in the border. The poppy cultivation which is the source of the production of heroine lead to financing of Talibans and terrorist groups. The warlords who became powerful during the civil war till hold important posts in the new parliament since the Bonn agreement invited all the warlords to form a government to oust the Taliban. The corruption exists in all the sectors which is working against the vulnerable communities.
At this crucial juncture rehabilitation is indispensable to build peace among the communities who lost their social capital. Enhancing livelihood is crucial because after the advent of the UN the displaced people arrived back and slowly the people wanted to restart their social and economic capital.
The peace building measures have not created substantial positive effect due to micro level problems escalate the conflict among the communities. The mass media developed by the international communities and the revival of schools and the education system have created awareness on social problems and communal harmony among the youth for positive changes. There are miles to go towards peace building since the Afghans lost their social fabric and they lost their livelihood sources. This study explores into a rehabilitation project which has the objective of providing employment but has not brought any positive changes in the lives of vulnerable communities. The study has brought out the aspirations of Afghans for peace building and on the basis of the group discussions it has recommendations. Peace education to the school going and non school going children and rebuilding the traditional problem solving mechanisms by training the village leaders in conflict resolution methods like dialogue and de-arming the war lords are some of the suggestions. The project advocates for the small scale industries since anything small will enrich the vulnerable communities and it argues to change the policies from infrastructure building to developing the human develop index since Afghans being torn by war have lost all the chances of augmenting the human development skill.
